I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over - Chapter 61

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

◈ I Became the EX-Rank Pet Maker Hunters Obsess Over ◈

Chapter 61: Round Table Meeting

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The Gauntlet Apostle flickered into view before the Butcher and me in an instant that seemed to split a second. Both fists shot forward mercilessly, carrying explosive force.

KWA-A-A-A-ANG!!!!!

A deafening roar exploded with a blue flash, and a shockwave swept through the room as though heaven and earth had been overturned.

Naturally, standing right beside the Butcher, I was caught in the shockwave from that terrifying destruction.

Rumble...

A massive radial trail of destruction stretched from where the Butcher had stood for dozens of meters behind him...

“Tch...”

The Gauntlet Apostle clicked their tongue as though they had not felt the impact.

Then the Butcher appeared behind them.

“Hahahaha!!!! Calm down a little. It’s not like I said anything wrong.”

“Shut up...!! How dare you insult Them... You are also an emissary who serves a god. How can you speak so vulgarly!!!”

“Huh? Our Transcendent is a thorough pragmatist, so They don’t care what Their Apostles do as long as it helps. Isn’t the side that forces people to praise them as a god the more contradictory one? Listen closely, fanatic. That being isn’t some god. Just a being a little more capable than us!! If that being were truly omniscient and omnipotent, they wouldn’t say things like that!!! They’re just pretending to be a god to suck up causality, fuck!!! Am I wrong!?”

The Butcher dramatically spread both arms as he laid out his argument.

Thick veins rose on the Gauntlet Apostle’s forehead at that openly provocative voice.

“You bastard... Do you intend to keep committing blasphemy...!!”

“Ha... You really don’t listen. There are no gods, fanatic!!”

After needling the Gauntlet Apostle for a while, the Butcher scratched his head.

“...More importantly, what are we going to do about this? Even if it’s an Avatar, this much damage means it’s over, right? Their mental body got completely wrecked. Of all things, their head got blown off.”

Where the Butcher pointed, the Plague Doctor’s corpse was growing cold, with only its lower half remaining.

Avoiding his gaze, the Gauntlet Apostle spoke.

“...It is your fault. You cowardly ran away. And if they came here unable to endure that attack in the first place, they were destined to return to God’s embrace.”

“Are you serious...? You really are a lunatic. Fanatics really do think differently. Fine, fine. Let’s say it was my fault, then let’s go back to our seats. We paid a lot to get in. Shouldn’t we have a more constructive discussion?”

Perhaps killing someone uninvolved had cooled the Gauntlet Apostle’s head somewhat. They nodded.

The two walked toward the round table in the center, keeping their distance.

As they walked, the ruined space naturally restored itself as though time were reversing.

Step. Step.

Halt.

The Butcher stopped in place.

“Um... Unless I’m crazy, I think I can hear three sets of footsteps...?”

“...I feel it too. And you are crazy.”

“...No, the presence behind us feels strange...”

The Butcher slowly turned around, then jumped in shock.

“Oh, fuck!!!”

The Plague Doctor, with only their lower half left, was walking after them toward the round table.

Clutching his pounding chest, the Butcher crept closer and spoke to the Plague Doctor’s crotch.

“Plague, is your consciousness in your little guy instead of your brain? I mean, men can be like that, but this is the first actual case I’ve seen.”

The Gauntlet Apostle turned at the Butcher’s reaction. When they saw the Plague Doctor’s lower half, they hastily waved their hands and made the sign of the cross as though they had witnessed something unholy.

“My God, how can it move when its upper body is gone... Lord...”

Ignoring them, the corpse walked to the round table and sat in an empty seat.

“...I’ll bet my entire fortune that thing definitely isn’t human.”

* * *

The space was restored, and flesh rose from the Plague Doctor’s lower half, reconstructing an upper body.

“...”

Before my face could finish forming, I created a crow mask in midair and put it on.

My appearance was different from reality anyway, but there was no need to show these people my Avatar’s bare face. The less information revealed, even false information, the better.

Once I had finished rebuilding, I sat at the round table and looked over the others before speaking.

“So, what is this place for?”

At my relaxed question, the Butcher spoke as though dumbfounded.

“No... More importantly, how did you come back? In this premium room without Protect, half your mental body was blown away.”

I tapped my head with my index finger.

“There is a small core inside my head. Unless it is destroyed, my body can regenerate any number of times.”

“Your... head was blown off... Are you insane too?”

A well-built man wearing the Emperor’s Mask, who had been listening to our conversation, spoke in a low voice.

“That is enough. Once the meeting begins, no one will be able to lie. Ask your questions then.”

Like the Emperor’s Mask covering his face, his voice struck my eardrums with the force of a real king’s command.

Was he someone with a rather high position in reality too?

No matter how high someone’s self-esteem was, they would not wear a mask like that otherwise.

I called it the Emperor’s Mask, but its most notable feature was the ceremonial crown on top.

Unless he was exceptionally confident in his position, using an Avatar like that was...

‘...More importantly, this space doesn’t allow lies either, just like the Symposium.’

That did not mean everyone would tell only the truth. There were many ways to conceal the truth without uttering a lie.

The Emperor’s Mask looked toward the entrance and declared the meeting open.

“There will be no more participants, so let us begin.”

The building was completely cut off from the outside, and the atmosphere changed.

It had been daytime outside, but darkness swallowed the interior. Blue light descended from somewhere above and poured down like moonlight.

It felt as if I had stepped onto a stage.

The Emperor’s Mask spoke first.

“You must all be curious about this Channel. If there is anything you wish to ask, ask first.”

“Sounds like you’re the master... but the entrance fee is too high. You’re not pocketing it all, are you?”

“Do not worry. I swear upon my existence that the causality will be used only to maintain this room’s functions.”

At the existence oath, the Butcher nodded.

“If that’s the case... why gather only Apostle-tier people?”

“As you all know, until the middle stages, the Transcendents’ competition is a conflict between the Order forces and the Chaos forces. Cooperating to drive out the Chaos forces can be said to be our shared goal.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

The Gauntlet Apostle clicked their tongue at the Butcher’s words.

“Tch... The Order forces and the Chaos forces pursue different directions, so one side must be driven out. Did you not even know that?”

“Our Transcendent never said anything like that!! Are you insulting our god by saying They don’t properly educate Their Apostles!? Didn’t you just go on about dignity, saying we must always watch our words and actions so we can respect one another’s religions and avoid tarnishing a god’s name? Is that what your god taught you!!!”

“Ah, no, that’s not... No, wait. Didn’t you say you don’t believe in gods!! How dare you!!!”

Amon had said that many Order-aligned beings reached transcendence through things like human faith and technology, so they were friendly toward humans...

Conversely, the Chaos forces had many beings that reached transcendence by grinding humans up.

Their methods of rule were clearly incompatible, making it a structure where one side had to drive out the other.

Amon’s view had been that the Chaos forces had an advantage in raw power over the Order forces because using humans as fuel was more efficient.

In other words, the Order forces had to form an alliance to defeat Chaos.

This time, the Gauntlet Apostle, who had been arguing with the Butcher, asked a question.

“But could the Chaos forces not infiltrate this room? Censers are not particularly difficult to obtain, so they could hide among us while wearing human forms.”

The Butcher shook his head.

“Come on... You worry too much. Those types always give themselves away, so we’d spot them and learn their identities right away... Huh?”

At the Butcher’s words, everyone in the room looked at me.

‘Why are they looking at me?’

I was about to protest, but the Emperor’s Mask spoke first.

“It does not matter. The Chaos forces rarely cooperate with one another anyway.”

He spoke as though he would not care at all even if there were a spy among us.

“Since the questions seem to be over, let us move to the next stage. Information exchange. As you all know, the Merfolk of the North Sea have begun operating actively. They are kidnapping humans from the British coast and performing human sacrifices even in broad daylight.”

There had been some news articles about it, but was it really that serious...?

Kidnapping people in broad daylight? What kind of...

The Emperor’s Mask continued.

“If their forces completely swallow the United Kingdom, they will become a very powerful enemy in the future. Those whose identities have already been exposed are abandoning all restraint. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before they swallow the United Kingdom.”

“Huh? It’s that bad?”

“Ordinarily, they would have quietly built their forces beneath the surface. But the identities of the Merfolk infiltrating human society were exposed, so they have no other choice. They will throw everything they have into swallowing the United Kingdom.”

“Ah, so it’s like they have a fire under their feet and are rushing into an all-in push. Heh heh... How did they get exposed in the first place?”

At the Butcher’s words, a being of another species I had encountered on the day I first accessed Masquerade flashed through my mind. It had tried to destroy my mind.

‘Could that Being of the Deep that picked a fight with me have been a Merfolk...?’

If so, did I have some responsibility for the situation in the United Kingdom?

No... It was better that their identities had been exposed before they could build up further. At least there was room to respond now.

The Butcher tilted his masked head.

“Come to think of it, since it’s Europe, can’t the Gate Church people handle it? Ah, are any of them here too?”

Naturally, no one answered.

Besides the Emperor, the Butcher, and the Gauntlet, there were two other people at the table. They were twins dressed in black and white Lolita-style outfits.

However, neither had said a word since earlier.

Perhaps bothered by that, the Butcher addressed the twins.

“...Hey, are you two not going to say anything? Are you decorative NPCs or something?”

As the Butcher reached out to tap the black-clad woman’s face, a vicious killing intent poured out from the one in white.

“...Do not touch her.”

“Oh, so you are alive.”

...Hmm. Everyone here except me was insane, but that woman was in a class of her own.

My Customer Window was showing unbelievable information.

Still, I deliberately pretended not to know. Nothing good would come from getting tangled up with someone like that.

The Gauntlet Apostle spoke.

“So what are you proposing? That we go help the United Kingdom?”

They seemed displeased, but I understood them.

‘We could be exposed. Why would we bother? What do we gain?’

The Emperor’s Mask quietly looked over us.

“You need not worry about your identities being exposed. Hunters will soon gather there anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

The Emperor’s Mask gave a small sigh as he looked at the Butcher.

“You know nothing. Separate from receiving compensation from the United Kingdom... this means we can gain enormous causality through this opportunity.”

At the words enormous causality, my eyes widened.

The Emperor’s Mask spread both arms.

“War always brings enormous causality. Articles about a Merfolk extermination operation will soon be released. In any case, the purpose of this place is for us to take turns sharing information like this. As Apostles, we should be able to share high-level information that can secure causality.”

I see... The idea was to share information known only to us and profit from causality.

But I didn’t know anything.

I had no Transcendent to give me information. All I had were two Jelly Dogs with transcendent textures.

The Butcher seemed to feel the same way and scratched his head.

“But I don’t have any high-level information related to causality.”

“It does not have to be information related to causality. Revealing a secret no one else would know would also be acceptable. The hidden truth behind an incident, for example.”

“Ah! I have something like that too. Then I’ll go next. I was actually the one who cleared Japan’s Anomalous Gate.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the room’s lights turned red.

“That is a lie.”

“Oh, that was a joke. I was just testing the function. Actually, I’m the killer who assassinated only wealthy people in the Middle East.”

When he spoke the truth, the lights turned blue again.

“...That alone is insufficient.”

“What if I add that those wealthy people are secretly offering people as sacrifices to Anomalous Gates?”

“...That is not bad.”

The Emperor’s Mask nodded, and no one else criticized the quality of the information.

I roughly understood the rules.

“May I choose the next person? I want to hear Plague’s information!?”

Wouldn’t people normally go clockwise...?

Still, I had decided what to say, so it did not matter.

“I was the one who exposed the identities of the Merfolk in the United Kingdom.”

At my words, everyone’s eyes went round as though they had heard something unexpected.

“...Hm?”

“...How?”

Hmm... It should be fine to say this much. My expanded consciousness had sensed that no one was around at the time.

“I destroyed one of their minds in Masquerade.”

The lights did not change.

The Butcher tilted his head.

“This... Maybe Plague is mistaken...? How did you know what they were...? No, Plague has a Chaos vibe, so let’s say you somehow figured that out... But how did you destroy the mind of a being from another species? After receiving a Transcendent’s baptism, their mental strength should be far sturdier than a human’s.”

“Could you have dragged them into a space without Protect, like this one, and defeated them in combat? Or perhaps Plague is not human?”

The Butcher and the Gauntlet exchanged opinions.

I gave the people doubting my identity an undeniable truth.

“I am human.”

The lights did not change.

The Emperor’s Mask made me an offer with an interested expression.

“Interesting. Then may I test that?”

I nodded because I could guess what he intended to do.

As his eyes turned red, the pressure in the room gradually intensified. It was transcendent mental strength, as though it were invading the mental world itself.

The space of Tier One began to shake, unable to endure the powerful mental strength taking form.

Rrrrrumble!!!

Killing intent clearly greater than that of a Being of the Deep began to fill the room...

“...I think Plague might have gotten seriously mixed up with something...”

“...Urgh, how can the pressure be this intense...!!”

The Butcher and the Gauntlet began sweating coldly.

The black-and-white twins did not react.

And I...

I kneaded Air Haengbok and began controlling my mind.

Under such intense external stimulation, something was about to tear through my human shape and burst out.

‘Calm down... Hoo...’

I desperately endured with one thought in mind.

I could not destroy a space I had paid 10,000 Coins to enter.

Just as I was slowly approaching my limit, the Emperor’s Mask nodded. At the same time, the pressure crushing the space disappeared.

“...I believe you. You too have surpassed the hierarchy.”

At his words, the Butcher and the Gauntlet widened their eyes, looking back and forth between the Emperor’s Mask and me.

“...Both of you advanced your tech trees quickly. Especially you, Plague... To not even flinch after taking that killing intent... You’re far more dangerous than I thought...”

“Are you really human...? More importantly, didn’t you just bet your entire fortune that Plague wasn’t human?”

“Ahem, did I? I don’t remember very well...”

Having safely finished my turn, the order moved on.

The Gauntlet spoke.

“My turn? I happen to have information related to the hierarchy. There is currently a being in Korea who has reached the second hierarchy.”

Hm? Had Rodin’s identity finally been discovered...?

The Flying Turtle’s impact had been considerable.

However, the information from the Gauntlet was different from what I expected.

“They are presumed to be an Apostle from Russia.”

...Hm? Russia?

Why were they in Korea now?

Author’s Note